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Construction season set to start in DeKalb County

By JEFF ENGELHARDT -
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com

April 30, 2013

Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com

Caption

Vehicles are seen Thursday crossing the t-bone intersection of Lincoln Highway and Carroll Avenue near the new DeKalb police station. The city plans on changing the t-bone intersection into a four-way intersection.

DeKALB – As the warm weather rolls in, so too will the construction crews get to work on area roads. Millions of dollars are set to be spent on widening and repaving roads and replacing bridges in DeKalb County this summer. Most of the projects will not cause closures or delays, but residents should expect a few inconveniences on the roads.

DeKalb residents can expect some minor delays on Bethany Road between First Street and Meadow Trail West starting in about a month. DeKalb City Engineer Joel Maurer said that stretch of road would be widened, which will require lane shifts for commuters.

The project is the city’s most expensive this summer at about $900,000, but 75 percent of the total cost will be covered through federal funding.

Widening of Taylor Street near Lions Park will begin in mid-June, Maurer said, and will also require lane shifting. That project will cost roughly $350,000 and come from the motor fuel tax fund.

The construction of a new police station will require the existing “T” intersection at Carol Avenue and Route 38 to be converted to a four-way stop. Maurer said there would be considerable sidewalk and entrance work, along with traffic signal upgrades from mid-May through August.

At times, Maurer said it could cause only one lane to be open in each direction in the area.

The biggest inconvenience, Maurer said, could be the increased amount of potholes. He said city street crews would not be able to work on potholes until after they receive the city condition survey in about two months.

“It’s been pretty severe this year,” he said of the potholes. “Especially with the winter swings in temperature causing thawing and frosting and all the moisture we’ve gotten.”

Sycamore

Major Project: Widening Bethany Road to three lanes between Peace and Somonauk roads.

Sycamore will enter its sixth year of a summer street maintenance program that will include a total of $2.3 million in spending, mostly because of a major Bethany Road project.

Ebe Smith, assistant public works director for Sycamore, said that stretch of road would likely be completely closed to traffic for the duration of the project. No start date has been determined because the city still needs to solicit bids from contractors for the project, he said.

Funding will come from the city’s motor fuel tax and street maintenance fund, which is a combination of Sycamore gas and sales tax revenues, Smith said. The rest of the $2.3 million will be directed to projects on 15 Sycamore streets. Smith said no significant traffic issues would develop during those projects.

Smith said the street maintenance fund is expected to last through 2017, with roughly $1.2 million allocated to projects each summer.

Residents who cross the Kishwaukee River on Base Line Road will need to find their own detour as all traffic will be blocked off during a bridge deck replacement project, County Engineer Nathan Schwartz said.

Schwartz said preconstruction work would begin in a few weeks on the bridge, located about 2 miles west of Route 23. He said the project would last most of the summer. Federal and state funding will cover $526,359, while the county will pay $10,965.

The Five Points Road Bridge replacement will not begin until August and should last until late November, Schwartz said. The county share for that $2.2 million project is estimated at $551,200.

Schwartz said in addition to the two major projects, 11 townships will complete paving projects that will temporarily cause one-lane traffic.

Gov. Pat Quinn also announced Thursday a 3-mile resurfacing project on County Line Road from Perry to Lee roads. The $428,000 project is part of the Illinois Jobs Now! program.

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